Council moves forward with redevelopment plan

The Hackensack City Council approved the introduction of an ordinance adopting a redevelopment plan for State Street, a month after it was determined the street would be part of the overall Downtown Rehabilitation Plan.

HACKENSACK — The Hackensack City Council was presented with, and subsequently approved, the introduction of an ordinance adopting a redevelopment plan for State Street during their Dec. 18 council meeting.

The plan entitled "State Street Redevelopment Plan for Block 209, Lot 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 15" was already presented, and unanimously approved during the Planning Board's Dec. 12 meeting. The lots in question are located at addresses: 76, 86, 92 and 94 State Street as well as 31 Warren St.

The plan also includes requirements for a number of amenities, with a minimum of "a fireplace or fire-pit and specialty stone paving hardscape for the residents. (A rooftop pool is optional)," according to the proposed State Street plan.

During the planning board meeting, Councilwoman Karen Sasso addressing those present, stating her happiness and satisfaction with the proposed plan.

"I am very excited for the city," she said. "This [redevelopment] will be great for our city and a new start for our downtown."

During council meeting, Hackensack Mayor Michael Melfi expressed his support of the plan.

"This is an exciting time for [the city]," he said. "This is a significant step forward [in the overall Downtown Rehabilitation Plan]…I hope this is the spark to help ignite the start of [entire downtown redevelopment]."

The State Street Redevelopment Plan calls for a six story residential building to be built on the lots on State Street and the one lot on Warren Street.

According to City planner Francis Reiner of the firm DMR Architects, the State Street redevelopment plan's residential building will have a minimum size of 625 square feet per residential unit. The entire building will house a minimum of 136 units and a maximum of 230 units, said Reiner.

The plan also calls for each residential floor to include "a minimum of one common room (excluding laundry) of not less than 350 square feet" and "a fitness center of not less than 750 square feet."

"We continue to make progress in revitalizing our Main Street Corridor with unanimous consent on our plan to move Hackensack forward," City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said in a press release. "We are going to see change in the coming months that will get peo-ple of Hackensack excited about the future of our city. Residential development remains a core part of what we are trying to accomplish on Main Street, and this is a first step in that goal."

The 63-page Downtown Rehabilitation Plan was passed this past in June, with hopes of revitalizing the area thus bringing in more revenue into the city.

"The city has met with numerous other developers on other available properties in the downtown and so we think that over the next six to eight months, we'll have announcements on a number of projects," Reiner said.

"I am confident that in the coming months we are going to be announcing new projects that will transform our downtown and really begin the process of returning Hackensack to the center of activity in Bergen County," Melfi said.

According to the city, if the State Street Redevelopment Plan is approved, it will be the first substantial residential development in Hackensack's downtown district in over three decades.

Now that the introduction of the State Street plan has been approved, the City Council will vote on the ordinance at its Jan. 8 meeting.